Drabble Box
by Mrs Maxim de Winter
Summary: Because reading a drabble is like opening a box of chocolates. You really never know what you’re going to get.
1. From Heaven to Earth

_A/N: In here, you will find a series of drabbles and one-shots focusing on various characters and situations. Any and all pairings can and might be used, but heed ye warning: Persephone is an A/H shipper. This doesn't mean there will be bad Minerva characterization in here, though._

_Disclaimer: Persephone Spring owns Paul Jenkins. Erasmus owns Adagia. Eoin Colfer owns the rest._

From Heaven to Earth

At the beginning of the new year, Artemis found himself returned to St. Bartelby's. The elder Artemis and Angeline knew that their eldest son had no need for the academic instruction provided by the school, but that he definitely required much more social interaction with others of his own age. Also, Artemis I wanted his oldest to finish his last few credits there so he could be the latest to embrace the Fowl tradition of graduating from the institution.

One afternoon, with no intention of fraternizing with his peers, Artemis II was in the library, perusing a copy of _Adagia_. The louts at the next table, though, were making this hard to do, guffawing loudly and exchanging inappropriate stories about various girls at the near all-girls' school, St. Marina's. The loudest and most inappropriate of these boys, Paul Jenkins, happened to be one of the rudest students at St. Bartelby's, and also was one of the few stupid enough to ever talk (or look at, for that matter) to Artemis Fowl.

Artemis narrowed his eyes and continued to block out the words of the miscreants, until a phrase out of Paul's mouth caused his head to jerk up reflexively.

"… yea, and Holly was there too. What a hot…" Paul bragged, causing his companions to look at him with slightly worshipful faces. Unfortunately for Artemis, Paul's eye caught his.

"What, Fowl, you got a girl named Holly, too?" Paul laughed, his friends turning around to leer and chortle at Artemis.

Scowling again, Artemis turned his attention to _Adagia_. However, before he could begin reading again, a silvery, unbidden thought slipped quietly through his mind.

_If only._

_A/N: A little shameless and lame, I'm aware…_


	2. If a Little Dreaming is Dangerous

_Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer owns Artemis Fowl_

If a little dreaming is dangerous…

Sometimes Juliet dreamed of strange things.

One recurring figure was a small, hairy man, with abnormally large teeth. Though not exactly aesthetically pleasing, Juliet would always wake up with a faint smile when she dreamt of the creature.

Another form she saw often in her sleep seemed to be a man, too, but instead of being hairy he had the bottom half of a horse- what she seemed to know was a centaur. Whenever she dreamed of the centaur, he always, curiously, seemed to have some piece of technology with him.

The final regular resident of her subconscious was a small woman. The redhead was the most common thing she saw, and usually in the dreams it seemed as if her and Juliet just talked, and laughed. It was if the little, short-haired woman- person? – was her friend, almost.

Sometimes Juliet regretted having to awaken after dreaming of these things. But she shook it off quickly, in the traditional Butler fashion. She knew she had to live in reality.

_A/N: A little sad to write. The quote ends "…__the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time." by Marcel Proust._


	3. Kaleidoscope

_Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl. Also, a review to tell me what you thought would be welcome :)_

Kaleidoscope

The room turned on an axis. Colors from the wall hangings, the rich Oriental rugs, and from the flowering trees outside the window meshed to form a bewildering blow to the nervous system.

Breathless, Artemis slumped to the floor.

Directly next to him, Angeline was quite amused.

"Arty, dear, one yoga set shouldn't be that tiring!"


	4. Gloriana

_Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer owns Artemis Fowl._

Gloriana

Angeline Fowl strode into the parlor, the sight of her son reading Spenser's _The Faerie Queene _greeting her. Artemis II glanced up from his book and gave his mother a small smile. "I see you're reading about Queen Elizabeth I," Angeline said conversationally. Artemis nodded. "It seems so."

Angeline grinned and turned to Butler, also in the room. "And he watched 'Titanic' earlier this week, I gather?" Artemis reddened at this. "Only to see if it was historically accurate, of course, Mother."

Butler ignored the comment and nodded to Angeline. "It seems that Artemis has developed an affinity for redheads."

Artemis could've thrown the book at him.

_A/N: A little corny :]. And to my __amazing __reviewers, thank you so much! I really appreciate you guys taking the time to give me feedback. _


	5. Double Black Diamond

_Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer = Owner of Artemis Fowl_

Double Black Diamond

The brisk Alpine air nipped at the blond girl's nose. She wrinkled it and pulled her Hermès scarf tauter around her neck. She checked her Swarovski-studded Rolex. Her instructor was three minutes late.

'I do hate skiing,' Minerva Paradizo thought. It was true; the young genius hated to ski, along with almost any other sport. With mental activities she was completely in control, whereas with physical ones she was often clumsy and rather out of shape.

A young man in a bright red skiing jacket expertly zipped directly next to her, stopping with a quick turn of his skis.

He grinned at her, the Swiss sun reflecting off of his white teeth. "You must be Miss Paradizo. Are you ready for your lesson?"

Minerva blushed and answered in the affirmative. 'I suppose I could use a little exercise…' she thought.

_A/N: Because Minerva deserves someone too. And thanks too all my spectacular reviewers. Oh, and MaryLilaWest, I changed Spenser's name. Thanks for the heads up on that!_


	6. Fire and Ice

_Disclaimer: I don't own "Fire and Ice" or AF._

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice. He knew it would eventually come down to the two. And he watched them. Fire was hauntingly lovely, in erratic, spontaneous, and passionate sense. Ice was also, of course, beautiful, sparkling in its intensity and sheer brilliance. While both were quite tempting, he recognized that he, like Frost, preferred the blazing former.

_A/N: Floating around in my head since I read this poem._


	7. Arbitrary Commercial Letdown

_A/N: And now for something a little different. Also, I don't own AF characters. _

Arbitrary Commercial Letdown

Twas the feast of St. Valentine, one of the few holidays which folks both above and below the Earth's crust celebrated. While many a couple - Foaly and Caballine included, who had spirited themselves away to a delicious carrot restaurant in Atlantis – had planned activities of the romantic nature, there were always a few lonely hearts without, to say, another half. Let us take a brief look at four of these souls, on this day which many call an arbitrary commercial letdown.

I.

The small hairy man shot out of the ground with surprising force and landed in a grassy knoll just outside one of his favorite haunts. Pushing open the door to the Goldyn Mynes Bar (spelling error courtesy of the original owner, Molar Pines), Mulch Diggums (who else?) sauntered over to the barstool and ordered himself a worm martini, with a few extra worms. Next to Mulch, a sad-eyed dwarf somberly sipped a similar beverage. Mulch turned his head to greet his friend and was surprised to see him so morose. "Hey Bombadil, why the long beard?" Bombadil Berry sighed. "I just feel a little lonely today, Mulchie, you know… without a woman." Mulch's excessively bushy eyebrows raised in shock. "Dwarves don't need women to complete them!" said he, "That's what soft, silky earth is for! And why would today be any different than any other day, may I ask?" Now it was Bombadil's turn to be surprised. "Today's Valentine's Day, Mulch." "Oh," Mulch said neutrally, noisily sipping a worm out of his martini, "Never had much use for Valentine's Day."

II.

Dark hair gleamed as she tossed it over her shoulders like a model in a shampoo commercial. "My, my," she breathed, intoxicated by her own reflection. A movement in the back of the room startled her, and she angrily swiveled around. Scant Brill quivered in the doorway, holding an extremely large, garishly-colored heart-shaped box. Opal Koboi's (of the past) maniacal eyes lit up in delight. "Did you get the card I asked for?" she growled at her subordinate. "Ye-yes," stuttered the fairy. "And you brother? Is he getting the other box?" Still shaking, the pixie twin said that he was. "Good," purred the mad genius. She walked over to the floor-to-ceiling mirror and opened the card that was perched delicately on the box of truffles. "To Opal, Love, Opal," she purred again aloud. Opening the box, she plucked out a truffle and popped it into her mouth. "Happy Valentine's Day, lovey," Opal said. Then, she noisily kissed her reflection.

III.

The entire family was occupied; he had made sure of it. The elder Artemis and Angeline were in London at The Ivy for their traditional Valentine's Day dinner. The twins were absorbed with separate activities: Myles, ever the alchemist, was busy trying to mix up a love potion, while Beckett was alternately drinking expresso and dancing around old Spice Girls CDs. And Artemis the younger was doing something quite secretive in his room, something he had been working on for a few days. Butler knew that this was his prime chance. Quietly (well, as quietly as a seven foot Eurasian bodyguard could move) he snuck into the media room, DVD in hand. He slipped the disc into the player and, relaxed now, sat down onto a couch. The opening scene came on, and Butler closed his eyes momentarily in bliss. How he loved to watch "Some Like it Hot," on Valentine's Day.

IV.

Valentine's Day was sort of a family holiday for her, considering Cupid was her ancestor. In the past, her parents and her, then just her mother and her, had gone to the surface somewhere to picnic. No longer, however. In recent years, Holly had simply worked all through the day. Now, though, she was on forced leave by Commander Kelp, because of her tireless work to catch the Opal Koboi of the past. Lying on her bed, she pounded her fists against the mattresses in anguish. Why _today_ of all days did she have to have off? She didn't have a real love life, that was for certain, and her entire immediate family was dead. Very suddenly, Holly's doorbell sounded, and she jumped up, alert. Cautiously, she moved over to the door and answered it. On Holly Short's doorstep was a gnome dressed in a giant, unflattering Cupid costume. Through her shock, a small part of Holly was offended by the gaudy getup. "Um… may I help you?" she asked slowly. The gnome adopted a surly expression. "Look, lady, I'm only here to give you your delivery." Holly was puzzled. "My delivery?" The gnome sighed audibly. "Yes, I have a _delivery _for you. Do you want it or not?" "Y-yes, I'd like it please," she answered. The gnome took out a small parcel from a pocket on his… diaper and handed it to the elf before turning to walk away. "Wait!" Holly called out suddenly. The deliveryman turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Who sent me this?" she asked, trying to hide her feelings of anticipation and confusion. "A guy who called himself Mr. Aph Roe de Tè," the gnome said impatiently. "But who was it _really_?" Holly demanded. He shrugged, "I honestly don't know. None of us know back at the store. The guy just said his name was Aph Roe de Tè and he wanted _that _delivered to a Holly Short." With that, the delivery-gnome walked to his small cart and sputtered away. Holly was stunned for a few moments, but regained enough lucidity to open the package. What slid out into her palm brought a grin to her face. 'Maybe it's good I was at home today.'

_A/N: Happy VDAY! Also, thanks to my ama-za-zing reviewers [insert uproarious applause]!_

_*Concerning "_Fire and Ice_," fire can either be Holly or "good," and ice can be either Minerva or "evil,"… not that I have any bias- it depends on what way you look at it. Also, to _Sad little smile_, Robert Frost is the author of the poem "_Fire and Ice_." Hope that clears up any confusion!_


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